Jay Cutler kept things simple. Giving his receivers too many options would have resulted in ‘‘96 different pizzas.’’

And the late-night meetings he arranged during organized team activities weren’t about stuffing their faces — they were about getting a better grasp of new coach Marc Trestman’s complex offense.

‘‘It was just a new offense’’ Cutler said. ‘‘I don’t know if [Trestman] did it intentionally or unintentionally [but] he put a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks of learning the offense and in turn the best way for us to learn the offense was to coach the other guys and help them learn the offense and the formations.’’

The pizza meetings are an example of Cutler’s leadership which often receives little attention in discussions about the enigmatic Bears quarterback. Part of the reason why is that it’s a story that Cutler doesn’t like to share.

‘‘Geez man’’ he said with a guilty grin when asked about the meetings. ‘‘We’ve got a lot of open mouths around here.’’

In an interview with the Sun-Times on Thursday Cutler talked about his role as a leader of the Bears in what has been widely called the biggest season of his eight-year career. It’s a role that’s an essential part of his makeup if you ask his teammates and coaches. It’s just more prevalent this season.